- Author's Note (19/10/23) : I'm currently in the process of re-reading and editing so if you see any mistakes they will be fixed soon! -
She reached out her hand that was pulsing with anger and covered the glass disk which had single handily defined her teenage years. The glass disk was attached to a hunk of plastic, other wise known as a camera and attached to that were the people who seemingly ruined her life at every turn. They were always there and that was no different now, despite the five years she'd spent out of the business. Gripping the cool glass was an action she hadn't done before because she didn't want to ruin her public image, but in that moment, Leigh Danvers was past the point of caring. She wanted to feel the normalcy that she did before writing and performing that damn theme song but doubted she could ever get that back.
"Leanne, will you take part in the five year reunion show of 'At The Top?'" One member of the press shouted and walked hurriedly alongside her without a care in the world that he was standing on the edge of the pavement.
Another with a microphone in hand held it out in her direction without a thought to her personal space. "What do you say Leanne, will we see you there?"
She pushed past the group of paparazzi, grateful that it was only a small one and made quickly in the direction of her apartment. Being in a small town in rural North Carolina, Leigh wondered how on earth they knew she was there, especially as she'd logged out of all social media the moment she left LA and hadn't once looked back. The locals treated her as if she were one of them and never batted an eyelid when the built, bearded men jumped out on her. But, then again, Leigh considered that her drastic change in hair colour from a beautiful platinum blonde to a chestnut brown could have had the desired effect on her appearance that she had hoped it would. The groups of paparazzi had grown smaller and smaller over the years Leigh had been out of the business realising the wasted time they'd spent chasing a woman who gave them less than an inch. But there were still a few, a few money hungry photographers wanting that money shot. They were always there waiting for her to slip up. Best case scenario, she freaks out and hits one of the paparazzi and worst case- the case she was constantly working on- she goes about her life, being the perfect citizen until they go away. Even though she'd changed her name from Leanne to Leigh there was still a connection. She knew that the similarities were too obvious to fool people but it was either use her nickname or lose her identity completely and despite everything that she'd been though in her life she was and always will be Leanne Danvers the daughter of her mother Leanne Danvers senior.
As the weeks progressed throughout her life in Oak View, there became less and less photographers around and eventually there was one, maybe two at most per week. Finally, Leigh felt as though her life could begin, she didn't have to stay cooped up in her apartment all day and paint her face in thick layers of makeup before heading out to the store. She finally felt as though she could live the life that she had always dreamt of and she was about to begin her life as a small town girl in rural North Carolina away from the Hollywood lights and the Los Angeles stardom.
"Morning Leigh." An older woman who lived on the first floor greeted her as she held open the glass door. "How was your run?"
"It was...you know...it was okay," Leigh told her with a shrug giving the same answer she did most mornings.
"They were still there, huh?" The older lady, Jean asked. She hadn't been shy to ask Leigh why she looked so familiar when she first moved into the apartment building and without any reason, she told her exactly who she was. Leigh was sure an eighty-year-old woman wouldn't be on social media and so she realised her privacy would be kept safe.
Leigh gave a half smile, a nod and a small shrug then carried on with her day. Her plans for that day were simple because her schedule rarely differed from day to day; wake up, go for a run, have a shower, eat breakfast and then begin work from home. Her job was easy enough, that's the way she thought of it. Leigh Danvers had a passion for creating music and she had ever since she was little. After her big break came to an end people wanted her, she became the person writers and producers would call when they were stuck and out of ideas, although that was not the way her mother had planned her future. But regardless was how she made her money and so, she spent most of her day sitting in front of her laptop taking Skype call after Skype call from frustrated producers needing help on that one note that they just couldn't seem to get right.
Other than that, Leigh spent her time working on her own music and tutoring the kids in Oak View when she had the chance, but as of late she hadn't done much tutoring, there just wasn't the time. At first, she thought she was living her dream but now she wasn't so sure. It'd been six months since she moved from LA and although they were the best six months of her life, they were also the loneliest. Her family that consisted of a mother, father and brother had all stayed in Los Angeles to cater to Toby's dream. She wasn't bitter at all because she was a big girl who could fend for herself but they could have at least acted like they wanted to move across the country with her. But she had to come to the realisation that the way she wanted to view her parents was far from the truth of what they actually were. She was proud of her little brother for making a life for himself in such a difficult industry but he was twenty-three, still living at home and didn't have any idea how to use the washing machine. There was no way he could survive on his own, Leigh would remind herself despite the constant nagging she received from her parents when she was his age. On the morning of her twenty-first birthday it had gone something like this; "happy birthday sweetheart," her father said, kissed her on the cheek and then said those certain words that stuck with her until she finally caved. "You're a big girl now, I think it's time you find a place of your own. You need a space of your own." She didn't know how to react to that. Yes, it was her twenty-first birthday but that didn't mean that she had instantly grown up. Age was just a number and it didn't mean anything but that was something her parents just couldn't understand. They were married by twenty and already had their first house together. Leigh relentlessly tried to explain that times had changed but they were having none of it.
When she finally moved out of the family home at age twenty-four, the age she felt it was time to move on, her communication with her parents became few and far apart. Leigh should have counted each conversation with her parents as a blessing because it wasn't until she made the dramatic move to Oak View that she realised it would be the last time she spoke to them.
The familiar up beat tone sounded the moment she'd signed into her Skype account and with a deep breath she altered her expression and pressed the green answer button.
"Danvers," a thick British accent belonging to Richard said smoothly. "How are things?"
"They're good," Leigh said. "The paps are still harassing me bu-"
"Cool, listen. I'm working with this artist right now and their stuff is...well it's average-"
Leigh cut him off in the same way he had done to her. "Send me a couple of tracks and I'll see what I can do."
"You're the best. I owe you big time. I've gotta go, they're here. I'll check back in thirty?"
"Sure." Leigh smiled and the screen darkened, along with the fake emotion plastered on her face. An email came through and she knew that a busy day was certainly ahead of her. True to his word Richard called back half an hour later and then again half an hour after that. This carried on for the entirety of the day until her work hours had finished and she was able to collapse onto the couch and settle in for a movie.
As the beginning scenes rolled so did the up-beat tone of a Skype call. Another producer was calling and it was one she knew she couldn't ignore, his name was big in the music industry and contacting her only occurred once in a blue moon. Leigh knew this must've been important and she also knew she'd get paid handsomely for her input.
She received no greeting when she answered the call and honestly she hadn't expected one, instead the song began to play and just like that more work began. The track only played for thirty seconds before the music was paused and the handsome face of one of the biggest names in music popped up. "That note right at the end..." he said with an underlying message.
Leigh caught on and added her input. "Change it to a low C, gives more of an impact."
He played the song from the beginning with the alteration, smiled in approval at the change and then ended the call with no goodbye and no thank you for answering the call after work hours. As Leigh was about to log out of her laptop another Skype call came in and with a roll of her eyes she answered. In the same way as before the call lasted for only two minutes and then the screen blackened along with her mood.
She was beginning to feel tired of being at everyone's beck and call, that was one of the reasons she moved to rural North Carolina. Leigh had thought that moving as far away from LA as possible would give her the needed space from the pressures of the music industry but now she was beginning to realise that she was far more involved than ever before.
As soon as the next Skype call came through at 10.25pm Leigh had officially had enough. She was barely halfway through her movie and was getting more and more frustrated at the interruptions. There wasn't a single day that passed where she didn't receive calls from one producer or another needing help.
The ringing stopped when Leigh didn't answer but quickly started again. She'd had enough. Leigh slammed the laptop lid shut and felt a weight lifting from her shoulders. The short lived freedom soon came to an end when her phone began to ring but the tingles she experience when she ignored the call gave her such happiness that she clicked the decline button and marched into the bathroom with her phone in hand.
It was in her contract to answer all calls and so she debated whether to continue with her next move. After only a second of thought, Leigh whipped open the bathroom cabinet, slid her phone onto the top shelf and closed it before heading into the kitchen to make some popcorn.
As the end credits rolled she suddenly felt a little uneasy. She'd signed a contract outlining the term of her employment but having ignored the Skype calls, the phone calls and the text messages she knew there wouldn't be a job waiting for her when she finally went back online. Strangely enough though, that didn't seem to worry her. Instead, Leigh sunk further into the couch and clicked play on the next movie without a care in the world for anyone else's life but her own.